The lost curse
by monamourx
Summary: What happens when Howl, and Sophie, and a few others just dissapear? P.O.V Janie; A sixteen year old who is suddenly transported from Wales to Ingary. With P.O.V's from Morgan and possibly Charlotte.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I don't own any characters, none that I didn't create anyways. That means I don't own Howl... or Sophie *sigh* I'm new to this sort of thing so be gentle, please? Anyways rate and all that stuff, hope you enjoy :) **

**Prologue**

It was a peaceful summer evening in the middle of July. The air was warm but not thick and there was a slight breeze. After running errands all day I had decided to paint and draw for it is my passion. However my small room makes it hard to paint in for long amounts of time. At the moment I was drawing and painting a delicate flower that would be white and red with hints of purple when I decided to get some fresh air, but couldn't for the life of me find my shoes.  
"Mum? Where are you?" I called into the hallway  
"Yes dear, I'm in the living room." She replied. I ran down skipping a few steps  
"Have you seen my shoes?" I asked while searching the room.  
"Yes I put them in the laundry room." She said without looking up from the book she was reading, which is odd since she is a very attentive woman. I decided not to question it as my dad had just left us a week or so earlier. I went in and found my shoes next to the door. Some fresh air will be nice.  
"I'm going on a little walk." I said tying my shoes  
"Okay don't stay out too late" She replied.  
I set out smelling the flowers in the air. It was perfect walking weather as the sun was getting ready to set; it helped me to get inspired when I saw all of the beautiful scenes. I took mental pictures of certain things, the flowers next to the park bench and how the light made them look; the tree a block or so away that seemed to be detailed and so on. I couldn't have been walking for more than an hour when it happened. At first I felt dizzy and so I sat on a nearby park bench, but then I got tunnel vision, and I could have sworn I saw three people nearby arguing. I could just make out their faces before the blackness swallowed me whole. The next thing I knew I was falling and could see hardly anything. I could feel the wind rushing past making me feel anxious as if I was falling quickly, and then I forgot everything.


	2. In which Janie is in odd places

**A/N: Well? How was the prologue? I hope you all liked it :) Again, I don't own anything that wasn't created by me. Here's chapter one.**

**Chapter one: In which Janie finds herself in odd places.**

When I woke up I was on a porch. I felt very weak but didn't understand why until I looked down. My arm was bleeding very badly, I had a deep gash from my elbow to my wrist that had seeped into the clothes I was wearing. I tried to open the door but I couldn't get up. The next thing I knew I lost consciousness, the black seemed to surround me every where. Then I heard voices but couldn't come to full consciousness.  
"You were right, but how did she get here?" One voice said  
"I don't know. All I know is that sometime in the past hour human flesh landed on my doorstep" said another deeper voice  
"That's weird. She's hurt, bleeding. We'd better take her in for the time." Replied the first voice  
"Do you need my help?" asked a third voice that seemed to belong to a girl  
"Yes Charlotte. Help me get her to the couch." The first voice said. I could feel myself being lifted and then placed somewhere warm and comfortable. I felt like I might be able to open my eyes now and so I tried. I felt so tired but after a bit of struggle I got them open seeing a boy with reddish brown hair looking at me.  
"She's alive! Thank the Lord! Charlotte get a glass of water please. Hi, are you feeling alright?" He asked looking concerned  
"No… where am I?" I asked feeling drained and confused. I could see now that I was on a couch near a fire. There was a wooden chair nearby and a kitchen table behind; if I craned my neck I could see the kitchen. The girl I assumed was Charlotte came over and gave me a glass. I nearly dropped it, but ended up drinking the entire thing.  
"We're in my house at the present. Do you feel better? Get some bread and cheese Char." He said to the girl.  
"I feel a little better but still weak" I replied.  
"What is your name?" He inquired  
"My name is Janie." I said as the girl brought a slice of bread with some cheese on it.  
"Okay Miss Janie I'll go and get a warm cloth for your arm and Charlotte will let you borrow a pair of clothes for tonight and help you change." Then they were gone. I sat on the couch feeling weak and useless but in no time they returned. They helped me up and walked me to the bathroom but the boy did not follow us in. She washed my arm and wrapped it in a weird material. Then she helped me into a nightdress.

* * *

"Morgan, can't you tell? She's under a curse." The fire stated  
"Yep. I know. Well, maybe not under one…she's definitely part of one though. I need more information." The boy said running his hands through his hair  
"Sorry kid." The fire said and sighed  
"I guess she can sleep in the spare bed in the closet." He said to the fire  
"You know, that's where Sophie slept when she first came here." The fire replied  
"You're really old then Calcifer." He retorted, but there was a sad look in his eyes as he sat on the couch.

* * *

The girl helped me over to a cubby like area, it was like a closet only bigger with a dresser and bed.  
"You will be sleeping here tonight." She said  
"Thanks." I replied as she closed the door behind her. It was more spacious than a closet but one couldn't call it big. I found myself feeling tired so I settled in bed. I closed my eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Charlotte closed the door and walked over sitting next to Morgan on the couch.  
"So, what now? What exactly is going on?" She asked curiously.  
"We let her sleep and tomorrow we get information." Morgan said looking worried.  
"I don't know exactly what is going on... I'm positive she's a part of the same curse as them." He said  
"Calcifer you've got to know something about this!" he said exasperated  
"Yeah, well, nothing I can tell you." The fire grumbled  
"That's not fair." He replied  
"Don't I know it kid. Sometimes I wish I was born a human." It replied "You guys better get to bed." The teenager and pre-teen got up and went up the stairs.  
"I miss my mum and dad." Charlotte remarked  
"Yeah, me too." Replied Morgan as he sighed.

**A/N: Rate and all that jazz! Give me feedback but be nice about it. I'll try and get the next chapter up really soon since I've got three typed up. **


	3. In which Morgan explains

**A/N: I don't own anything! Unless I created it.. then I do. Well, here is the next chapter. Are you glad? Sad? Mad? I'll never know... unless you rate and review and all :) (Corny I know, but that's how I am)**

**Chapter two: In which Morgan explains**

I woke up feeling confused again, I had no idea where I was, but then as I looked at my surroundings the night before came back to me. I found that I felt sad and hungry. There was a pair of clothes on the dresser of which I assumed were for me to put on. I clothed myself and went out to see who was up. I saw the boy in the corner of the room rummaging around at a workbench area. He seemed to be hard at work, bent over something and muttering to himself rapidly. I didn't think I should interrupt so; I went over to the chair and sat down.  
"I can control them…I CAN CONTROL THEM?!" "Well." He said "This...is a first." He said. I sat in the wooden falling-to-pieces chair and waited to be noticed. I figured this was the best idea. The boy picked up his rag and cleaned his hands whilst walking over to the kitchen and living area. Seeing me he said  
"Janie, good morning. You're looking a lot better. Come let us see how your wound is healing." I obediently followed his steps, my entire body aching from the fall I'd had coming to this place. I reached the living room  
"Please, sit. Have some tea, you like tea right? I'll go and get a new bandage for your arm." He left the room then and the girl from last night walked down the steps and into the room. I looked down at her and smiled; she smiled back and said  
"You must have had quite a fall. Badly hurt I'd say. What happened to you?" she asked  
"I fell and cut my arm coming to this place." I replied. It was then that the reddish brown haired boy walked in and tossed me a roll of some material  
"Charlotte help her change her bandage." He said walking over to the kitchen. She helped me re-bandage my hurt arm and the boy said  
"I never actually introduced myself, my name is Morgan." He said and Charlotte hopped off the couch and walked to a different room.  
"Well I'm not quite sure how I got here..." I said uncertain of what to say next.  
"You must be part of the curse then. Would you like a cup of tea?" He asked  
"Sure. Sorry but who is that girl?" I asked trying not to be nosy.  
"Cousin." Was his automatic response to me. Well I thought, just moments or hours ago I was sitting in my room drawing and thought nothing of this strange house.  
"Do you…have powers?"  
"Pretty much, I'm a wizard."  
"Well that is a bit different." At that moment Charlotte walked in passed both of us and stared into the refrigerator.  
"Charlotte, don't be rude." Morgan said  
"Oh, sorry I didn't introduce myself to you either. My name is Charlotte if you haven't already guessed." She said and shut the door. "Why is it that all of the food in this house is raw?" She asked sounding irritated.  
"Dramatic kid, Would you like some breakfast Janie?" he directed towards me.  
"Sure I'd love some." I replied as he took the raw food out of the refrigerator.  
"Calcifer! Wake up it's time for breakfast." He said alarmingly. This confused me, who is Calcifer? I wondered until I saw the fire speak.  
"Oh my! That fire spoke!" I exclaimed terrified everyone in the room chuckled as the fire said  
"My name is Calcifer and I am a very powerful fire demon."  
"A fire demon? There are no such things." I said convinced I must have been dreaming. Again everyone chuckled. How was what I saying so funny? I backed away and sat in the wooden chair again. Morgan sighed  
"We have a lot to go over... Charlotte make breakfast and keep an eye on things. Come with me Janie." He said while walking to the door I'd come in. He turned a strange dial so that a black blob of paint faced down and tried to open it but nothing happened. He tried again with his shoulder and then his entire body, but nothing happened.  
"Interesting. I thought so." He muttered to himself "They must be there... When will they be able to come back? This is too much! I'm only seventeen for god sake! Damnation!" He cursed and seemed to still be talking to himself. Finally he turned to me.  
"No matter we still need to fill you in." He smiled a fake smile and turned the dial thing green down and walked into a field with flowers. We walked through  
"This is where my father proposed to my mother the first time." He remarked smiling  
"The first time?" I asked  
"Yeah, he would not take no for an answer." He said chuckling. I wondered where his parents were now. Suddenly two chairs dropped from no where... it was all so strange.  
"Sit, make yourself comfortable. We'll be here a while." He said drawing tea also out of no where. And so I walked over to the other only to find it was extremely comfortable.  
"Okay well let's start at the very beginning." He drew a large breath and began.  
"I guess I should start with Howl. He grew up in Wales with his sister Megan, that's where you're from." I nodded  
"Howl studied wizardry and has since. When he was young he made a contract with a fire demon giving it his heart. Now he lived in a moving castle with his fire demon and a boy named Michael whose parents died and became Howl's apprentice. Fast forward a couple of years; this is where Sophie comes in. She grew up in a place called Market Chipping which is a town in a place called Ingary. Her mother died when she was very young. She went to school but when her father died she took over his hat shop under her step-mother Fanny. Ladeda, ho hum, skip the boring part. She eventually met Howl when she got lost, and because of it the witch of the waste, who was an awful evil witch in love with Howl, put a curse on Sophie turning her into an old woman. Hmm they never told me this...but somehow Sophie got to Howl's moving castle and lived there as his cleaning lady. You must understand that Howl is a very, very powerful wizard, possibly the most powerful in Ingary. So he knew she had a curse and immediately got to work on it. Are you following?" He paused taking a breather and some tea.  
"Yes. That name sounds so familiar. Howl... I've heard it before."  
"Of course you have. Where were we? Oh right! Day by day he worked on her curse and she day by day noticed the contract and in return worked on it. She had no idea he was working on her curse, and he had no idea that she was saving his life. Sophie is a clever girl though and it was tough but in the end she found his heart and gave it back, breaking the contract with the fire demon. Make sense?" he asked  
"Yes" I said  
"They found that in the end they loved each other. Uh, well they still do. Oh hell, I left out Aunt Lettie and Aunt Martha. Well, Sophie has two sisters, Martha and Lettie. Martha worked at the local bakery called Cesari's and Lettie was an apprentice with a witch. Michael met Martha and they fell in love and got married. Lettie fell in love with Ben Sullivan who was lost in the waste for years because of the Witch of the waste. They had a kid who is, drum roll please, Charlotte. Any questions?" He asked and drank more tea.  
"Just a few, how does the moving castle work? And what is the waste?" I asked slightly confused.  
"Well the waste is right over there actually." He said pointing in the distance. When I gasped he said  
"Don't worry Sophie and Howl and Ben killed the witch, um in a way. Well the waste is basically the place where the witch lived with her fire demon when she was alive." He said  
"Oh thank goodness." I said relieved.  
"Now the castle is a little more difficult. It's usually moving and Calcifer is the one who holds the house together and moves it. There is the front door that has the dials on it. Each dial represents a different place where we also are, for example red is the Kingsbury door which is a royal city where the king lives. Then there is the Porthaven door which is blue and is a town down by the sea near Ingary. The black leads to Wales. Howl and Sophie got married; they had me, which is where I get my powers from, my parents. Now I'll get to the weird part." He said and I leaned in engrossed in the story.  
"One day I woke up and they weren't there. Their stuff is still here, but they weren't any where around. Also Charlotte woke up to find her parents gone. When we phoned Martha and Michael no one answered and when we went over, the place was deserted. So I think that someone put a curse on them and you, keeping them in Wales and you here." He said with a stressed look on his face.  
"What about the dial thing?" I asked with a hope to return home.  
"It won't budge... I don't know why but it won't. Another thing, Calcifer knows but he can't tell du to the curse. That makes me think it has to do with another fire demon." He said  
"That's so... strange." I replied. It was then that my stomach growled and I realized how hungry I actually was.  
"Let's go have lunch." Morgan said and with that we walked across the lilies and hydrangeas and into the 'moving castle.'

**A/N: There ya go. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	4. In which Janie explains

**A/N: And again, I don't own anything guys. Honestly.. Um, well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy :)**

**Chapter three: In which Janie explains **

When we walked back in Charlotte was cooking over the fire, um, Calcifer.  
"I figured you guys would be back soon. Did you finish?" she asked to Morgan  
"Well we finished my part." He said warily.  
"Take a break for now. Do you like bacon sandwiches Janie?" she asked turning towards me  
"Yes I do, that sounds delicious."  
"You must be starving. We never actually had breakfast." She remarked chuckling to herself. We ate lunch at the table behind the couch, when we were done Morgan turned to me  
"Let us all sit on the couch for the next step is to ask questions concerning you, me, Char. And Cal." He said getting up and putting his dish in the sink. Charlotte and I mirrored his move and then got settled on the couch.  
"Now tell us your story." He said to me  
"Well I grew up in Wales with my mum and dad. I went to school for quite a while. My life was normal and boring I guess." I said apprehensively "What happened when you came here, do you remember what you were doing?"  
"Well I was taking a walk because I had been painting and the fumes were getting to me, when I suddenly felt dizzy and sort of unstable..." "Was there anybody nearby, or far, anyone that you could see?" he questioned  
"Well I went to sit on a bench and I thought I saw my mum and a man in robes out of the corner of my eye." I said suddenly remembering the scene. Morgan and Charlotte gasped and looked at me  
"Could you describe the man?" he asked  
"Of course. Tall, lean, raven hair about shoulder length, he was wearing a blue and white type of suit under his robes. He looked angry. Um, his hair was a mess; there was something strange about him though I can't pick out what it was." I said even more confused now.  
"Hmm. Sounds like someone we know. Hang on a minute." He replied. He jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs. After that there were some crashes and odd noises. He came back down carrying a big book, sitting down he opened it and flipped to a bookmarked page.  
"Was this him?" He asked pointing to a photo of a man and a woman. It was taken outside. The woman had reddish brown hair, like Morgan's, that was curled loosely. They had petals all over them. Both were smiling radiantly, as if it was the best day of their life. They looked so happy. It _was_ the man, though from afar he looked less handsome. In the photo he had piercing green-blue eyes and flawless skin.  
"Yes that's the man." I said in realization.  
"Well then we know for sure that my dad is in Wales. Did you notice anything or anybody else?" I thought hard recalling the memory  
"Yes... there was another woman with them and I think they were all fighting. It seems so distant." I said lost in thought.  
"Was it this woman?" He asked pointing to the woman in the picture  
"No it wasn't her." I said certain  
"Hmm well it's possible it's in this thing somewhere. Shall we look around? Let me know if you see the woman." He said turning the page. This photo was of the man and woman kissing, it was obviously a wedding book as she was wearing a veil. He turned the page again, it was a photo like none I'd ever seen before. It was of the man and woman standing under an archway looking at each other, but the look was what made the picture. Each had a look on their face of pure adoration, they were in love and the look on their faces showed it. They were holding hands and standing in the grass. Morgan seemed to stare at this for a moment before turning the page. The next one was a group shot including the man and woman (I assumed they were Howl and Sophie) on the side of Sophie was a woman who seemed slightly older, a girl who had to be around seventeen, and a girl who looked no older than fifteen. On the side of Howl was her. The woman I'd seen that day and in front of them was a little girl with a basket of flowers, and a boy who looked a little older with a pillow.  
"That's her." I said pointing her out  
"Aunt Megan." They both said at the same time. I was wondering how that could have happened when Morgan said  
"Makes sense if they were arguing, she's a stubborn have it her way sort of person." He said though he seemed to be in a distant world lost in his thoughts.  
"Could you point out who is who? I want to know everything since I'm a part of this stupid curse." I said trying to stay at a distance. Morgan pointed to the woman next to Sophie  
"That's Fanny. She's Sophie's step-mother." He moved to the left  
"That's Sophie's sister Lettie, my aunt."  
"And she's my mum." Charlotte piped in. He moved left again  
"That's Martha, Sophie's half sister. The one who eventually got engaged and then married to Michael." He said and then moved to the right of Howl pointing at the woman I'd seen.  
"That's Howl's sister Megan. They never get along. She doesn't know about his practices in wizardry and thinks he's a lazy bum who doesn't have a job." He moved to the small girl  
"That's my cousin Mari, she's Megan's daughter." He moved to the boy  
"That's my cousin Neil, Mari's older brother and Megan's son." He said his eyes stuck on the picture.  
"So, why would Howl, Aunt Megan, and Janie's mum be fighting together on a street, in Wales?" asked Charlotte. She looked as if she was thinking very hard  
"I don't know." Morgan replied still in his distant world.  
"I have no idea either, I've never seen them before in my life, I don't think that is." I said trying to recall if there was ever a moment of which I had seen them before. They seemed so familiar but I couldn't seem to place where I'd seen them before. Morgan got up, the book still in his hands and walked upstairs without uttering a single word. After a few moments a door slammed. I looked at Charlotte uncertain of what to do "We ought to leave him alone fore now." She sighed.  
"He's never been away from his parents before; they were a close knit family." She said looking out the window  
"Do you miss your mum and dad?" I asked and her attention snapped away from the window  
"Tons. I'm only fourteen you know." She said in a sad town and she seemed so much younger  
"Well I'm only sixteen. What do you miss the most?" I asked  
"Hmm. Their presence I guess. Um, my mum works at this bakery, Cesari's and she'd always bring me a treat. I miss her cooking." She replied and then with a different look she turned  
"What about you? Don't you miss your mum and dad?"  
"My dad left recently. Whenever I ask my mum she always changes the subject, and since then my mum and I haven't got on too well. We get into a lot of arguments... mostly about him." I replied thinking of how things used to be  
"Wait, your father left you and your mum?" she asked in an alarmed tone  
"Well I don't know if he _left_, all I know is one day he wasn't there. It's weird though, my parents never fought. In fact they were the mushy gushy kind of romantics. Even right before he left." I said recalling the romance.  
"That's not right. He didn't leave." She said seeming to be talking to no one in particular  
"What do you mean?"  
"I don't know, only that he didn't leave." We sat in silence for a moment.  
"It's ironic that in every family that is missing here and assumed to be in Wales is a wizard or witch... Do you know any wizards or witches?" she asked with a serious face. I never knew any. I know that I didn't but I had to lighten the mood  
"My mum said a week or so ago that my uncle turned purple." I said laughing. She didn't find it funny. It wasn't true, I knew that however I couldn't help but recall my mum not laughing either. Her eyes went huge and wide as she jumped off the couch, looked at Calcifer, and screamed "Morgan!!!" probably at the top of her lungs.

**A/N: What did you think? Was it terrible? I hope not.. **


	5. In which concerns some answers

**A/N: *Sighs* I don't own anything that I didn't myself create. Here's the next chapter! :)**

**Chapter four: In which concerns some answers**

I walked up the stairs slowly not realizing where I was going. When I saw whose room I was in the anger I felt was too much. I slammed the door closed. The cluttered room looked and smelled the way they left it. I sat on the bed with the book turning the page; it was a picture of dad, Aunt Megan, Mari, and Neil. The next was three put together with mum, grandmother, Aunt Lettie, and Aunt Martha. The next was my favorite. It was of mum packing and dad called her name, seeing the camera she got confused but by then he had taken the picture. I thought recalling the time all three of us sat on the couch and went through the photos. The next few photos were of Strangia where they went for their honeymoon. They never had told me what they did there. I'm glad they didn't tell me now. I was going through the baby photos when I heard Charlotte scream my name. Dropping the book I ran down the stairs.

* * *

I couldn't tell why she had screamed, I'd only told her something to lighten the mood. Morgan ran down skipping some steps  
"What? What is it?" He asked to a pale faced Charlotte  
"She... her uncle..." Charlotte sat down staring at Calcifer.  
"Your uncle?" He had turned to me.  
"Um, well, I don't know why but she finds something odd in what I said."  
"Which was...?"  
"Well, I was trying to lighten the mood so I told her something my mom told me. A week or so ago, she said that my uncle had turned purple." I said calmly His eyes widened  
"Where does your uncle live?" He asked  
"Hmm. I don't know where exactly, he and my mum don't get on quite right. She doesn't like to talk about him; but I think somewhere around High Norland." I replied  
"Of course" He sighed and sat on the couch  
"Wow you guys figured that out more quickly than Howl. It took him a while." Calcifer remarked to the room  
"Sorry but I'm a little lost."  
"Right, well, Janie, your uncle is err... a Lubbock." He said it as if it was terrible news  
"And that is what exactly?" I asked still completely lost.  
"Hang on I'll get the definition." He said and got up going over to the workbench area; he immediately began searching for something. This continued for a little while until he returned with a dusty thick book. I sneezed.  
"Bless you, Gesundheit, Salud, Santé, Gezondheid, and, Salute." He rattled off the top of his head. Looking over at Charlotte I raised my eyebrows 'He does that sometimes' she mouthed and seemed to get over her shock from before. After flipping through the musty pages he must have found what he was looking for  
"Ahh, here we are. A Lubbock is, 'A horribly evil man-like creature with purple skin, wings, and a face of an insect. It can "lay eggs" inside creatures without them noticing*' and the rest is mostly about the male eggs and female eggs." He said closing the book and putting it back on the table. I shuddered  
"So, my uncle Drew is a Lubbock insect creature?" I asked not wanting to think about it  
"Yes, pretty much. They're very common over in High Norland." He replied in a matter-of-fact sort of way.  
"I don't know if I'll ever think of him the same..." I felt sort of shocked with all of these wizards and Lubbock's.  
"So, what do we do now?" Charlotte asked bringing me back from my thoughts  
"Well, we've got to try and piece it together. Let's hope it works." Morgan said  
"Alright. So far we know that my dad, Aunt Megan, and Janie's mum are on a street, in Wales, fighting. We also know that my mum, Aunt Martha and Uncle Michael, and your mum and dad are all in Wales as well." He said  
"Janie's dad might be there too." Charlotte said  
"Really? What do you mean by that?" he asked turning towards me.  
"Well, my dad went missing recently, and my parents never fought, ever which is why I don't think he left. So, Charlotte thinks that he has something to do with the curse." I said to his blue-green eyes.  
"Hmm. Yes, that does make sense." He said to Charlotte  
"But _what_ were they fighting about?" He said out loud.  
"That could be anything. Him, Sophie, You, she's probably still mad she didn't get notified the minute you were born." "I was born as a kitten! How was mum supposed to tell her?" he exclaimed  
"Are... are you part cat?" I asked concerned that this had something to do with magic  
"No, no, no, you see when my mum was pregnant with me this magic djinn took over our house and turned her into a cat, Howl into a genie, and Calcifer into a magic flying rug. Apparently the time came to give birth and she was still a cat so..." he trailed off sighing  
"Oh. Yuck." I replied  
"Wait, does Howl know about Lubbocks?" Charlotte suddenly asked  
"Well, of course. There was that whole incident with Charmain and waif and Twinkle." He said the last name shaking his head and smiling.  
"Calcifer, can't you give us a hint? Does it have to do with Howl and Lubbocks?" Morgan asked to the fire  
"Hey, kid you know that I can't." Calcifer replied looking put out.  
"I'm so lost." I said completely confused.  
"How about we do story time after dinner?" He proposed and got up going to the kitchen. Morgan was apparently an excellent cook, or so I'd been told by Charlotte. Calcifer put up quite a fight saying he was tired and that he'd had to move the castle too far for his liking that day. However in the end Morgan won. For dinner we had a green leafy salad and fish. Afterwards we went back to the couch and Morgan put some hot water on to boil for tea before going upstairs. When he returned he was carrying the big book we'd seen earlier. As he sat down he opened the book marked page; this time one was of a toddler with reddish hair and nothing but a diaper on, hugging a dog. The next was a little blond haired boy with crystal blue eyes and a blue suit. He looked ridiculously adorable next to the sleeping toddler on his lap. Down the page some was a girl who looked about twelve holding hands with the toddler and smiling. The last picture was of Sophie and the toddler. She was half holding him but she must have been tickling him because he looked as if he were squirming and they both wore amazing smiles. He pointed to the first picture.  
"This is me and Waif; she's an elf gift; which basically protects the King and Queen." He moved to the next one  
"_This_ is the Twinkle story. When I was two my mum went to the King and Queen to help them with an issue, but my dad decided that she really needed us, and so he showed up as this boy with a lisp calling himself Twinkle. He obviously couldn't go as Howl and he brought me and Calcifer along saying that Sophie was his Aunt. My mum still gets annoyed with him because of it saying he was a troublesome child."  
"And what would he say back?" I asked amused with the story  
"He says he had an awful childhood and that he wathn't beautiful and with a lisp." We all laughed at that. What a character this Howl was turning out to be! He moved on to the next photo  
"That's Charmain she owns Waif and lives with her great Uncle William." He said. He turned the page; not bothering to tell us about the other photo, for it was self explanatory. We kept going through the album making Morgan tell us stories. We got up to a photo of his third birthday where cake was all over the castle. Apparently Sophie had tried making a cake with magic. It must have been around midnight when we were all yawning involuntarily and we said goodnight. I went back to my closet like room and changed into the night gown Charlotte had let me borrow, I folded the day clothes I'd been wearing and set them on the dresser. I got settled into bed and again almost immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Charlotte and I had walked up the stairs. She went into my room and I into m parents. I had gotten completely ready for bed, and was doing some reading on Lubbocks when there was a light knock followed by the entrance of Charlotte. She walked over and sat on the bed hugging her knees.  
"I like her. Janie, I mean. She's nice and interesting too. I like her hair straight and black. Her jade like eyes are nice." She said winking at me "Charlotte... aren't you at all tired?" I asked giving her a deliberate look  
"I get the hint. Goodnight." She hopped off the bed and tiptoed out the door with bare feet. After that followed silence and I drifted off to sleep.

*Credit to Wikipedia and House of many ways for the definition of a Lubbock.

**A/N: How was it? I haven't even started the next chapter yet and last night I had half of this done. Any suggestions on what should happen? I'll take them all into deep consideration :D**


	6. In which adds some relations

**A/N: I don't own anything :( unfortunately. Here's the next chapter;**

**Chapter five: In which adds some relations.**

Charlottes P.O.V:

I tiptoed across the room hoping there weren't any loose floor boards that creaked. I looked over at Morgan and listened to the silence the enveloped the castle. How is everyone asleep? I thought to myself as I tiptoed across the hall and slipped into Morgan's room. I sat on the floor going through some old books that were on a bookshelf. Most were action packed and very gory; not something a fourteen year old girl would enjoy. But then I recognized a series I had read that Uncle Howl had given to me for my twelfth birthday. They were fantasy based about a boy named Harry who finds out he's a wizard. With my insomnia I read half of one of the books but my interests strayed. I usually sleep quite well I thought sighing but that was in _my_ home with my mum and dad. Oh, how I missed them and their wonderful cooking, not that Morgan isn't a good cook. I wandered back to bed in the darkness with nothing else to do, I lay down and thought about Janie and Morgan who were in the same situation and as that comforted me I must have dozed off.

* * *

Janie's P.O.V:

A few days passed in the moving castle and I was beginning to feel more at home. I didn't notice when Calcifer would stop the castle for the night and go to sleep, and I didn't notice when he woke up and resumed his usual pace. Morgan and Charlotte and I spent an entire day painting in the field so that my closet-like room would feel less foreign. The next day Charlotte and I went on an adventure. We went to the market to buy fish, eggs, milk, flour, butter, baking soda, mayonnaise, cacao, potatoes, sugar, carrots, and oil. When we returned we decided to make mini chocolate cakes, it would be hard though cooking on Calcifer. During the process we managed to get flour and ingredients everywhere, we just hoped that Morgan wouldn't notice. While the cakes weren't what charlotte had intended, they looked much like a dessert my mum used to make in Wales. After that I made a terrific discovery. I was rummaging through things in the castle, trying to find something to cool the cakes on when I found a marvelous stack of DVD's and a player underneath a T.V. I squealed in excitement that made Morgan and Charlotte race to make sure I was okay  
"What is it?" Morgan asked at the same time Charlotte said  
"Are you okay?" I turned to Morgan  
"You have a T.V.?! and a DVD player?! And an enormous collection of DVD's?!" I said in disbelief  
"Oh, yeah I forgot about that. I probably should have mentioned it since it's from your world and all. My dad got it a while back; he tells this hilarious story of when my mum found it." He said chuckling. Charlotte however looked very confused. Her brow was furrowed as she asked "What does it do?" Morgan and I hulled it out placing it near the couch  
"It's a T.V. basically you can watch things, um, plays and such on it." He replied to her as I picked out a movie  
"Should we watch The Notebook, Love Actually, and Ooh! the Lion King?" I asked to the room  
"Watch the Lion King. She's only fourteen, geez." Morgan said looking at Charlotte who had widened her eyes not knowing any of the names. "Fine, we can watch that." I grumbled at not being able to watch my favorite chick flicks. We sat together watching the movie and eating chocolate cakes, even Calcifer joined in on the fun.  
"Poor Simba, having to run away. I bet he missed his family." Charlotte remarked at a certain part of the movie. Morgan suddenly sat up straight during the 'Hakuna Matata' scene and looked over at me.  
"Wait... oh, no." He said very concerned like and got up, going over to the work bench area. Maybe he's hungry I thought pausing the movie, it was after all dinner time, but we'd eaten so many cakes, how could he possibly be hungry? Or maybe he just noticed the mess we made in the kitchen I thought recalling the flour accident.  
"Janie..." He said it slowly drawing out each syllable  
"When did your dad go missing?" He asked apprehensively  
"Um, I'd say about a week before I came here."  
"Oh, oh no." He said frowning  
"When did you say your great Uncle turned purple?" I gasped  
"About a week ago!" He closed his eyes.  
"So, you think he was taken by the Lubbock?" Charlotte said the color draining from her face  
"I'm about 99.5 percent positive." He said looking to the fire  
"You're terrible at giving hints, you know that?"  
"Hey I don't make the rules." Calcifer retorted in his defense  
"Not fair" Morgan grumbled  
"Tick-tock, tick-tock, you're running out of time! You guys have to solve this thing soon!" Morgan sighed at the fire's remark and sat down again. "You're father was taken by a Lubbock, we know that for sure now, but what does that have to do with anything else?" Charlotte asked. We sat in silence for a while, each of us trying to figure out what one had to do with the other until we gave up for the time being and finished our movie.  
"Do you have the Lion King 2?" I asked since I wasn't too terribly hungry.  
"Sure." He said getting up. We got through the entire second Lion King until we felt hungry.  
"I'll make some soup." Charlotte said getting up to make something light to eat. Calcifer seemed to have really enjoyed the movie; He was singing the 'We are one' song as Charlotte put a pot over him.  
"Kiara's lucky to have Simba, and you guys, you're lucky to have each other!" He exclaimed. I looked up from drawing and smiled; as I did I could have sworn the fire winked at me...  
"Yeah, we are lucky." Replied Morgan  
"Only we're not..." He trailed off looking at me and Charlotte and then at Calcifer  
"...family." He said furrowing his brow  
"I'll be back." He said distantly. With that he walked upstairs leaving Charlotte and I very confused. The soup was finally ready, but as I called Morgan's name telling him so, he just said to eat without him  
"Hmm. That's odd, he never misses a meal." remarked Charlotte as she ladled out the soup into bowls. It was potato soup, creamy and white and delicious. We chatted while we ate and then sat back on the couch after we'd cleaned up. We had everything set up to watch another movie and were in the process of picking one when Morgan walked back down with a couple of books and a million papers. He turned off the T.V. and sat down in front of us spreading out his papers and opening his book as Charlotte and I shared a look of wonder.  
"Janie do you have any Aunts or Uncles? Or was your mum an only child?"  
"Oh, well apparently I have a stubborn Aunt and a carefree Uncle, but I've only met them when I was really little. There was some fight that we don't talk about between them all and they haven't spoken all together in like, ten years."  
"Interesting..."  
"What have you got there?" Charlotte asked pointing to the papers  
"Some letters of my father's." He said raising his eye brows briefly  
"Check this out, it says Dearest C, and its signed Farwell for now sister, Howell. It talks about an Uncle Drew." He looked up at me and I gasped "That means that my great uncle is Howl's uncle, making him your great uncle, and whats weird is my mum's first name is Crystin."  
"Yeah, and the only sister I've ever hear him mention is Megan. And he signed it Farwell for now sister, Howell. You said you had a stubborn Aunt and a carefree Uncle?" He said giving me a look.  
"I don't believe it! We're cousins!" I exclaimed realizing  
"Thank Calcifer. I picked up on his hint."  
"Finally! Do you know how long I'd been humming that tune? And Janie, you gave me the _weirdest_ look when I winked." Calcifer replied.  
"I wonder what they were arguing about, then." Charlotte said with a thoughtful glance.  
"Well I've got another letter here from Aunt Megan chewing Howl's head off about going to this college that she apparently didn't approve of, and then later she apologizes but says that she'll never forgive Crystin for telling him about that school."  
"She must have been hurt, but over a college? Really?" Charlotte asked in disbelief  
"Yeah, I thought that too, so I went and got his yearbook. He'd been practicing wizardry and magic since he was... oh I don't know, Charlottes age, maybe younger. But in his yearbook is a message from Uncle Drew it says,

'Good luck to you Howell. You'll go far as a wizard, further than me, that I know. I'm glad Crystin got us talking about wizardry and your magic.'

So that means great Uncle Drew is a Wizard." He said looking up from the book "And your mum got them talking about wizardry and magic, so she knew he was a wizard."  
"Oh, so Aunt Megan was upset that Aunt Crystin got him to go to that college of which was for magic, and then years later she's still upset because she thinks he's a lazy good-for-nothing bum that doesn't have a job and so she blames Aunt Crystin and that school." Charlotte explained rationally  
"Exactly." Morgan replied, but all I could think about was that my great uncle is a wizard/Lubbock, and my own mum knew about it! We sat around with Calcifer for a little longer, trying to pry out some answers before Morgan heated up some soup and we all watched Love Actually. Morgan didn't think it was appropriate for Charlotte but we watched it anyways, and she didn't seem too scarred afterwards.

**A/N: Well? Was it a bit rushed? I think I know what I'm going to do in the next chapter but I'm not completely sure so suggestions are welcome :) I'll try and get the next chapter up soon!**


	7. In which what goes up comes down

**A/N: Well, I finally got inspired and so here's the next chapter. I don't own anything that I didn't create! Oh, and my mistake a couple chapters ago I said that Drew was Janie's Uncle when in reality he is her Great Uncle. Enjoy :)**

Chapter six: In which what goes up must come down

"What did you call that movie again?" Charlotte asked. It was mid-morning at the castle. The sun was up, spilling light into the room showing how dirty it actually was. Everyone was up except for Morgan; he wasn't exactly a morning person.  
"I called it a chick-flick. It's a term we use in Wales to categorize romantic comedies like the one we watched." "Welsh people." She said back shaking her head  
"Hey!" I started in protest, but then something caught me eye, something that moved. I screamed as the furry creature darted across the room, and jumped onto the kitchen counter.  
"Ah! A mouse!" Charlotte screamed and climbed up next to me. We clutched each other in fright as we heard several bangs ahead. Morgan walked down the stairs; his hair stuck up at odd places and he was wearing white boxer shorts with red polka dots and a grey T-shirt. Seeing us and seeing the mouse he started to laugh and doubled over. He scooped the mouse up and took it outside. We shot him ungrateful glares as he was still laughing.  
"Okay, okay I'm done now. But you should really see yourselves! You're standing in a sink!" He said  
"Hey! At least we didn't come down in our under garments!" I said rather defensively. He looked down at himself for the first time and booked it to his parent's room. I'd never seen a guy his age run that fast, or skip so many stairs.  
"Goodness, we really should clean in here." Charlotte remarked  
"After breakfast." I said getting a pan down. We decided on omelets and figured Morgan would come back at the smell of food, but he didn't. And so Charlotte and I trudged up to his parent's room to find him sound asleep. "This always happens!" Charlotte exclaimed  
"Here, go over there." She half whispered pointing to the side of the bed. She went to the other side and dug her fingers into the mattress.  
"On the count of three we flip, okay?" I nodded  
"One... two... three!" We flipped his mattress over on top of him. This seemed to be an effective way to wake him  
"You guys are the worst cousins ever."  
"Oh, we know. Now get dressed! Breakfast is ready, and after we'll need your help cleaning the castle. It's absolutely filthy." Charlotte said. And with that we went back downstairs and ate. Moments later Morgan appeared, fully dressed and ate two omelets. After that we got to work, filling two bucket's of water; one with soap and the other without. We went around the entire castle organizing things and cleaning up, when we found a piece of paper float from the ceiling. It was folded ten times and when Morgan opened it, the paper was actually three. He passed one to me, and one to Charlotte. They read;

Morgan; hey kiddo, how's the old castle holding up? Sorry your mum and I had to leave you so suddenly. It wasn't planned, I promise. If your reading this note that means you've found Janie and know all about great uncle Drew, and that college, oh, and Aunt Crystin. Don't let Calcifer bully you any, if he refuses _anything_ just threaten him with water. Now, the next step in solving this puzzle is to get the black portal that leads to Wales open. It's simple really, you must follow the directions to the spell on the back of this letter. I miss you and I'll add a photo to the book when I get the chance to take one. Here's mum. Morgan, my baby, I'm sorry we had to go, you must forgive us. At the moment you're sleeping and your father is whisper-yelling directions at Calcifer. It's quite a sight actually. Oh, I wish we could have taken you with us to Wales, but your father said... He's telling me I have to wrap it up soon. I love you dear, and I've put a spell on the fridge to keep it stocked. My regards to your cousins!

-Mum and Dad.

Charlotte; your mum and dad are fine, I swear. They're here in Wales with everybody and we've all put our heads together to solve this curse, minus Aunt Megan. There's a photo of them included, you should have seen your father trying to handle the camera. Try not to miss them too much, okay? We'll be back before you know it. Oh, and disregard the ink spill, I'm writing with a quill and Sophie just attacked me. I know your strong mind will help in this situation. Best regards.

-Uncle Howl and Aunt Sophie

Janie; and you thought life in Wales was boring! How does it feel to be away from all of those electronics? Although I'm told you're more of an artsy gal, or so says your mum. She says hullo, and that she misses and loves you tons. How was your journey to the castle? I tried to make it easy and painless, but your mum and Aunt Megan wouldn't let it rest about why I was in Wales. I hope you're not feeling too homesick, your Aunt Sophie (my wife) says to check out the field for inspiration on drawing, as she is quite the painter. Best regards to you all.

-Uncle Howl and Aunt Sophie

Charlotte immediately flipped over the paper and looked at a photo of her parents. Her dad's arms were around her mum and they were smiling. Underneath the photo was scrawled; we love you! With a heart drawn next to it. At the same time Morgan got the album out and flipped to the back chuckling at a photo  
"Hey guys, come look at this." He said calling us over. The photo he was looking at had everyone in the backyard of a house next to a swing. In the back were the adults, including, Howl, Sophie, Michael, Martha, Lettie, Ben, Megan, and another man. In the front were Mari and Neil. All of the adults looked perfectly normal, smiling and all. Howl looked slightly mischievous and Sophie looked as if she were being tickled. Mari and Neil must have been arguing because he was tugging on her hair and she looked as if she was going to punch him in the gut. I pointed to the strange man  
"Who's that?"  
"Oh, that's Uncle Gareth. He doesn't look to happy does he? Well, he and Howl don't get on right." Morgan replied laughing at the sight. We all exchanged letters reading them so that we would know what was going on.  
"So, we need to do this spell." I said turning to them after I'd read Morgan's letter  
"No, _we_ don't _I_ do. You guys can help with the ingredients though." He said to us. We sulked for a few minutes while he got everything ready to go.  
"Well? Come on! We've got to get to the market before it closes so we can get the ingredients for the spell!" He said impatiently with a scroll of paper. We got up and put on cloaks getting ready to go. Once we were in the market we searched for crushed garlic, aloe vera, liquefied coal, one black feather from a crow, and powdered sugar. In time we found it all, the most challenging was the crow as Morgan made one of us hold it while he plucked a feather off, guess who got to hold the crow? It was one of the most terrifying experiences I've ever had. We must have looked suspicious carrying around a potato sack full of our ingredients but we made it back without many stares. When we returned to the castle Morgan ordered us to get out a bowl and moisten it, he was very bossy when it came to his magic. As I got out the bowl I wondered if I had any magic in me but that thought vanished as he called me over. I walked the bowl over to Morgan at the workbench area and then sat on the couch to watch with Charlotte.  
"I still don't understand why we can't help." Charlotte murmured under her breath. He didn't hear as he was reading the spell  
"Well, I'm glad it wasn't too difficult to understand. I've been told that the spell for your contract with Howl was horrible to understand." He remarked to Calcifer  
"Yeah well anything regarding a heart contract is usually pretty complicated." He said back as Morgan put the piece of paper down. He crushed the garlic and put it in the moistened bowl and then poured in a certain amount of aloe vera, and then poured in the liquefied coal, once that was done he said some things quietly under his breath just so that Charlotte and I wouldn't be able to hear. Then he put the powdered sugar in, after that he mixed it together using the non-feathery side of the feather. Once he was sure it was mixed together he said more words and made some strange symbols with his hands. After that he got a chair and went to the door smearing the paste like substance around the door frame with the feather. He turned the dial to green, walked into the field and said something before returning, and then he turned the dial to red and walked into Kingsbury again muttering something before returning. He turned the dial blue down and went out to Porthaven and said something before returning to the castle. At last he finally turned the dial black down and turned the knob...

**A/N: I thought this chapter needed a cliffhanger. I hope it wasn't too terrible as I wrote it in the past few hours when inspiration FINALLY hit me. Everytime you rate and review I pick up my cat and kiss her, cats have feelings too right? So go rate and review for the emotional well being of my cat. **


	8. In there is reuniting of some sort

**Chapter eight: In which there is much Reuniting**

It was what we had been waiting the past hour for. He opened the door as Charlotte and I scrambled to follow him through. For a moment it was all blackness, much similar to that of which I'd experienced on my way here, and then before we realized it we were on the street that I'd taken a walk on. We were a little farther north where the houses lined the streets, and we had landed on someone's front lawn. Morgan looked around for a few moments "Wait... I know where we are." He said just as the front door opened and a young girl skipped out in a yellow sundress; she was looking down as if to make sure she didn't trip but as she saw the feet of someone else Mari looked up at Morgan. Her face went from shock to recognition. "Morgan!" She screamed running over and hugged him with elated joy. "Mari, who are you talking to? I told you not to talk to strangers!" Said the older woman who had just walked out of the door holding a pocketbook. "Mum, look!" "Oh, Morgan, what a surprise, what are you doing here?" She asked trying to mask irritation. "I'm, um, looking for my dad." He said avoiding eye contact. "Oh, right. Of course you are. Well he isn't staying here. You'll find him at this address; it's a block or two down from here." She said handing him a note card from her pocketbook. With that she and Mari went into their car and zoomed away. Charlotte looked quite frightened at the thing, but Morgan and I were used to them. I walked over to see the address since I was more familiar with the area and then gasped with realization. "That's my address! Your dad must be staying at my house!" I exclaimed "Lead the way then." He replied. I turned us around and pursued our route home. It didn't take long, only ten or fifteen minutes. I breathed in the smell of Wales that I had been absent from for so long. It felt so good to be home. The weather was yet again perfect. It was sunny and warm with a slight breeze, just like the night when I'd left. When we reached my house I went to open the door, only to find that it was locked. "Hmm. That's odd; my Mum hardly ever locks the front door." I thought out loud I looked around and found the gnome that hid our spare key and unlocked the house. As we stepped in the foyer I noticed that all of the blinds were closed and the lights off. I looked at Charlotte and Morgan with a confused look while I flipped the light switch on "This isn't right..." I said and suddenly there was light everywhere. It was coming from the living room, and as we got closer, it was coming from the fireplace. I looked around when the light had died down and noted that the back door was open. "How strange." I murmured. We walked towards the fire cautiously "Hallo guys, it's just me." We looked up in surprise as the light of the talking fire transformed into a teardrop form. "I couldn't let you go to Wales without me!" Calcifer said defensively "Also I gotta warn ya, there's someone coming to this place, I can't tell you who, but I can tell you that they are NOT planning on doing very good deeds, so we better high tail it outta here." He said quickly looking around. I took one last look around the living room and kitchen before adding "Yeah, it looks as if someone already did that." With that we went out the back door. "Well? Where do we go now? We've got to get away from this place!" Morgan said worried "Um, well we could go to the bus station and take the bus into town." I said. Maybe I wasn't a witch and couldn't help with spells, but I could help a lot in my own world. "Okay, okay just go!" Morgan said hurriedly as he started to run down the street. I stopped him "It's this way." I said turning him around. We ran down the street with Calcifer bobbing right behind us and reached the bus station with panting, wheezing gasps. Then something weird happened... it started raining, but not a light drizzle that melted into a steady rainfall, it just started pouring. "Ah! Rain!" Calcifer exclaimed "I'm getting wet!" He said and so I put him into my jacket pocket. He was warm against my sopping wet clothing. I pointed to the sheltered bench and sat trying to catch my breath, and then I realized we weren't alone...

Morgan

I hastily got the ingredients together and deciphered what needed to be done with this spell. I hope I don't get it wrong; I miss my Mum and Dad so much... I stared at the paper aimlessly lost in my own thoughts of family. I snapped back to reality and saw everyone staring at me. They probably thought I was thinking about the spell I thought sadly. Either way I continued on with my spell crushing and smashing ingredients just so as the paper said to do. I remembered the countless times my Dad would help me with spells and then when my Mum would give me the shocked look of huge eyes when she thought I would get hurt. I chuckled remembering an peculiar memory involving phoenix feathers and fairy dust, my Mum was livid. I snapped back to reality again. I can't get sidetracked! I have to get this right! It's only a matter of time before... before they get stuck in Wales forever and I stuck here in this world. I couldn't bare that, I needed them. Then I thought of Charlotte, only fourteen, she needed her parents more than ever now. I concentrated more than I ever had on a spell in my entire life, except for a small remark towards Calcifer about the curse that bound him to my Dad. With determination I finished, grabbed a chair somehow and spread the paste substance around the door to unlock it. I had to chant some things in elfish, not something I looked forward to doing. I was pretty sure I had messed up and the feeling of doubt filled my gut as I reached towards the handle black down and turned it, much to my surprise it opened.


	9. In which there is a lot of chatting

**A/N: Hallo all! I got some inspiration earlier today and decided to finish this chapter :D that and I didn't have any homework. Hope you all enjoy! Allssso I don't own anything : ( **

**Chapter eight: In which involves much chatter**

They were huddled to the other side of the wall. They were wearing odd sorts of clothes that were slightly out of style and faded. Each had a hood that covered their entire face and were looking straight down at the floor. I was still out of breath when I elbowed Morgan and Charlotte in the sides and nodded over at the group while giving an uncertain look to each of them. There had to be at least six or seven or them. Part of the hood of the person nearest to me slid back on its own slightly. I was glued to the sight and my insides instantly turned cold as an ice blue-green eye stared at me. I felt my eyes widen and breathing fasten as I quickly directed my gaze towards the ground. The fact that I'd forgotten to grab shoes on the way out hardly struck my mind when the blue-green eyed person jumped up screaming  
"Finally!" at a very loud level. The hood had swept back revealing black hair and a chiseled face perfectly sculpted. This had to be my uncle Howl I though.

"DAD!" Morgan shouted as he ran over and grabbed his father in a hug. Mean while the other members stirred uneasily as if under a curse.

"It's alright, it's them! They're finally here!" Howl said with excitement. The hoods flew back on all of them at once and I watched as the blur of two people attacked Charlotte with joy and love. As for me, I turned to face my Mum and smiled to myself as she enveloped me in a soft hug. Her long wavy hair smelled like spices, as always.

"I missed you." She murmured

"I missed you too." I said nearly crying. As she pressed into me I felt something hot onto my skin. It took me a moment to remember the teardrop of a fire. I scooped him out and he bobbed above everyone before landing and singeing some of the hairs on a certain raven haired man.

"Cal! You're here! I didn't see you there, how did you get here from Ingary, and... ---YEOW! Damnation Cal! Too close for comfort! Howl said ducking out of the way and stomping his feet.

"Quit being a baby, you can re-dye the burnt hair." Sophie said kissing Calcifer when someone cleared their throat.

"Lovely this reunion is, but might I remind you all of WHERE we are and WHAT we're doing?" Martha said raising her voice slightly. The reunion snapped immediately.

"Right! We need to board the bus when it comes and go to our secret destination." Howl said winking at Calcifer. Sophie sighed. As if on cue the bus pulled up and we all got on. As we passed the streets of Whales Charlotte, Lettie and Ben seemed to cling to their seats. Sophie and Howl and Martha and Michael seemed not to mind at all. I sat and talked with my Mum. I rambled on about the magic castle, only to be informed that she had been there a number of times. I was so happy to see here that I almost forgot some important things.

"Mum, why didn't you tell me about witches and wizards and Uncle Drew? Do you know what a Lubbock is? And where _is_ dad?" I asked out of breath.

"Woah there! Slow down sweetie." She said smiling, but it faded away as she answered the questions.

"I didn't want to tell you right away because a lot of people in our family don't know, or disapprove of it, or turned bad... I wanted to keep you safe." She said looking at her hands.

"I do know about Lubbocks and how Uncle Drew is one. That is what I meant by turned bad or something. As for your father..." She trailed off tears fathering in here eyes. She swallowed and drew a deep breath.

"He disappeared. One day he just didn't come home from work. I looked everywhere, even at his work, of which I found a note... it's forged. It was written in print and he, always writes in cursive."

"Always writes in cursive." I said at the same time as my Mum while I thought of my fathers flowing loopy hand writing.

"Well did you consider that maybe he wrote it quickly; like on the go?" I asked. It felt like one of those detective novels I read when I was eight. She gave me an odd look and I could see the wheels turning in her head

"...No... I didn't... I mean... do you think he was kidnapped or taken on the spot or something?" She asked furrowing her brows and biting her lip. I looked out the window at a passing tree and noticed the person sitting in front of me shift in position and swore I could see a green-blue eye. I nervously acted on the spot.

"I must say you have a gorgeous castle Uncle Howl, Aunt Sophie." I said leaning over the seat.

"Why thank you Janie, dear. I'm sorry to sound rude but how old are you again?" He asked with a charming smile and Sophie with a more natural, pleasant smile.

"I'm sixteen."

"Really? But you're so small." Howl replied, and Sophie wacked him lightly on the arm.

"It's common for girls to be small." She said with a fiery look in her eyes and then turned to me.

"When is your birthday?"

"June 15th."

"Ooh that's right. I remember a very disturbing phone call at 7am after my class reunion. You were very loud." He said pointing a criticizing finger at my Mum.

"And you were probably hung-over." She said and then looked at Sophie with a twinkle in her eye.

"I swear I am cone sold stober." They said at the same time cracking up.

"NGAHH! THAT WAS ONCE! ONE TIME IN MY LIFE THAT I STUMBLE MY WORDS AND I NEVER LIVE IT DOWN!" Howl said throwing his hands in the air and shaking his head. The rest of the drive went just as pleasantly with everyone catching up. I was glad that I finally got the chance to meet the rest of my family. Martha and Michael were so adorable together and obviously in love. I hoped to find true love like her one day. Morgan kept popping up from where he was sitting with Charlotte to tell his dad spells or charms he had learned. The time on the bus was so nice and relaxed, the perfect weather combined with the reunion made a comfortable environment. I had hardly noticed that the sun was going down. I wasn't at all paying attention to the street signs like I had intended to. I started scoping out the nearest sign but in the dim light it was hard to read. Where in the world are we? P...P something... I squinted harder and just barely made out Pembroke. Oh my gosh! Pembroke?! That's miles away from Pwllheli!! I've never even been here before! Why are we in Pembroke? What has Uncle Howl got up his sleeve? I thought as I turned around and faced my Mum.

"Why are we in Pembroke?" I asked curiously. Her eyes widened and her cheeks grew red as she looked down at her hands.

**A/N: Well, there it is in it's glory. I did some research on Whales and actual places they could go xP I found it amusing, although I kept wanting to call the different places states.. ah the American in me swells. Reviews? Rates? They would make me happy! If I get a satisfying amount I'll frolic around my house in the 78 weather that is expected for Sunday. :D**


	10. In which the group travels to odd places

**A/N: No, I did not fall of the face of the earth. I have however been SWAMPED with school and the school's musical. All that was fun and all but now I'm free to write as I want! Or I shall be able to soon anyways. Well here is the next chapter! Sadly against my will, I don't own anything :(**

Chapter eleven: In which the group travels to different places

Mum fidgeted with her hands and avoided my steady gaze as she replied

"I have no idea; I'd ask your Uncle Howl, or your Aunt Sophie dear."

After this she quickly picked up her purse and got out a book, all in one fluid motion. "Hmph." I sighed glaring at her as she obviously concentrated on reading the same sentence over and over again. I sulked and stared at the darkening sky before leaning over my seat. Uncle Howl was fast asleep, leaning against the window with a beauty mask on. Aunt Sophie was leaning on him and sewing something. I tapped her shoulder lightly,

"Aunt Sophie could I talk to you? In private?" I asked nodding my head in my mum's direction. Luckily she hadn't seen

"Of course, lead the way."

She said placing her things on her seat and kissing her husband lightly on the forehead before getting up. I lead her to the very back of the row before sitting down, and tried to wipe every curious expression off of my face.

"My, you look grace, this must be serious." She said raising her eyebrows.

"Well, sort of... I just have a question for you." I replied lighter than I intended

"Okay, carry on."

"Well I noticed how far away we are from my home town and honestly, I'm slightly nervous… and curious as to why. I was hoping you'd have an answer." I said hopefully.

Her face fell slightly as she opened, and then closed her mouth.

"I with I knew Janie, but I haven't a clue as to why we are where we are, we could be traveling for another day for all I know." She pointed out, crossing her legs.

"That's quite alright. I assumed only select people would know, I just thought with a Wizard as a husband…" I trailed off looking out the window. I knew what I was doing, prying out as much as I could at once.

"Well, I do know that it has to do with your father and Uncle Drew. Having THAT Wizard as a husband is the same as having a three year old as a husband." She said rolling her eyes in his direction.

"You and Uncle Howl do seem to fight a lot." I said skeptic of how far I could take this conversation with someone I'd only known for six hours.

"What can I say? He's a stubborn man… me? I'm as carefree as a bird." She sighed "But I do love him. More than anything in the entire universe." She said standing up.

"We'd better get back!" The next few hours dragged into the night and before I knew it darkness had engulfed the sky. I probably spent an hour or two staring out the window at the stars thinking of all the possibilities.

What if this is all some practical joke?

What if Uncle Howl kidnapped my father?

What if I never see him again?

What if he's dead?! Each thought morphed into something worse. I tried thinking of something light hearted but it didn't last, and soon I found myself drifting into a dreamless sleep. When I woke up the sun was rising. Man it must be early I thought as I glanced around the bus. Everyone was asleep except for the bus driver. Suddenly the bus swayed and seemed to jump, however it was over almost as soon as it began and woke everyone up. Uncle Howl stretched in front of me, his hair sticking up at odd angles.

"Aahhhngg. We must be almost there." He said mid-yawn and sat up as if jostled awake. His voice changed from bleary to authoritative

"Okay, here is what needs to happen; everyone needs to sit still and DO NOT TOUCH THE FLOOR got it? Sophie, chalk." He said snapping his fingers

"You act as if I work for you." She said half awake and handed him a luminescent piece.

"Only in my dreams Mrs. Nose." He said squeezing her hand affectionately as he stood. He started crawling around on the floor with the chalk, crouching under the seats to draw symbols; it reminded me greatly of the symbols Morgan drew only a day or so back. He then took Calcifer and stood at what seemed to be the center of the symbols. Suddenly all light seemed to be shut out except the small halo surrounding Calcifer. Howl looked around one last time before muttering fast incoherent sentences. It seemed as if he was whispering to Calcifer, but I knew better than that. His hair was blowing in all directions, but I felt no wind. There were little beads of sweat, trickling down his face and threatening to fall. Just then I felt motion. Even though I could barely see, I could feel many things; the pressure that was instantaneously present of my mum's hand and the lurching feeling in my stomach as I felt the bus move. I glanced over at my mum wondering if she felt any of this, and sure enough here eyes were closed tightly. I peered out the window trying to see SOMETHING, ANYTHING; I felt a catch behind my eye that I usually felt when I stared at the road in a moving vehicle. All at once I felt dizzy and had to look away. My gaze was pulled to my Uncle who was slowly rising off the ground. For some reason I found this slightly comforting. But just as soon as I felt this he collapsed on the floor with a heavy thud, and terror filled every nerve in my body as light suddenly filled the bus and the outside world blinded my eyes. I curiously pressed my nose to the window, fogging a small area, and seeing no streets or cars, but rather rolling Kelly green hills. The sky here was clear blue, and off to the distant right I thought I saw a glimmer of water… but all of this was disregarded as my attention was directed to my unconscious Uncle lying on the floor, looking as pale as a ghost. This did however make him look gorgeous.

**A/N: Well, I've been working on this chapter for a while now, I really wanted to get it posted ASAP. So I started working on it a couple of weeks ago and wrote a page or two a night. I hope you liked ittt! Stay tuned and review because I shall reveal more soon! : D**


	11. An anouncement!

Hi guys! No I have not fallen off of the face of the planet *Sheepish glance* However I have been really busy/sick/silly and all of those other excuses.

Now, here's what is going to happen.

I've been working on finishing this story, I can't just leave it open can I?

However upon looking back at the story I realize just how many edits I needed.

So I've been thinking that I'll create another account and upload each chapter there, a lot of it is kind of different but pretty much the same. Deal? Deal. That sounds like a good idea, right? I suppose so, since it was mine and whatnot. Hopefully it will be wonderful!

Thanks for being so patient


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